Serum procollagen III propeptide is not of diagnostic predictive value in collagenous colitis

✍ Scribed by Dr. Johan Bohr; Ian Jones; Curt Tysk; Gunnar Järnerot

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2007
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 351 KB
• Volume: 1
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1078-0998
• DOI: 10.1002/ibd.3780010406

✦ Synopsis

The thickened collagen layer found subepithelially in colorectal biopsies from patients with collagenous colitis consists partly of collagen type 111. Procollagen 111 propeptide (P-III-NP) is a product of collagen 111 metabolism. We analyzed serum levels of this propeptide to assess its diagnostic value in collagenous colitis. Serum from 38 patients with collagenous colitis and 38 age-and sex-matched controls were analyzed for P-III-NP. Data on the patients included duration and severity of symptoms, treatment, and thickness of the collagen layer. There was no significant difference between P-III-NP in patients (3.8 k 2.0 yg/L) and controls (3.7 2 1.3 FgiL), and P-III-NP did not correlate with clinical activity. There was a significant correlation, however, between P-III-NP and age both in patients (r = 0.57, p = 0.0009) and controls (r = 0.64, p = 0.0001). This study shows that P-III-NP is not useful as a diagnostic or prognostic tool in collagenous colitis, and a colonoscopy with biopsy is still the only diagnostic method available.